Pierced earring having a wire loop pivotally journaled in the sides of a slot in the ring body



W Y H m H B G3 m m2 T m m W P m N R In F May 8, 1962 PIERCED EARRINGHAVING A WIRE LOOP PIVOTALLY JOURNALED IN THE SIDES OF A SLOT [72 vantor,

M 3 PW k Z ate Stats The present invention relates generally to thejewelry art and is more particularly concerned with the provision of anew and improved earring of the so-called pierced type, and of animproved method for making same.

Although pierced earrings may traditionally take many forms, one of themost common types is the construction wherein a fiat, elongated bar isbent into an open-ended ring, or any other desirable open-endedconfiguration, and then is provided at its open end with a pivotallymounted wire which is adapted to be detachably closed to bridge saidopen end. It will be understood that the flat bar is suitably ornamentedand that this comprises the ornamental part of the earring, the earringbeing mounted by virtue of the fact that the pivotal wire extendsthrough the wearers pierced lobe. It is this specific type ofconstruction with which the instant invention is concerned, and perhapsthis construction is best exemplified by Patent No. 2,647,379

One of the problems in prior art constructions of the type underconsideration has been to provide means for effectively pivoting the earwire to the elongated bar so that said wire is effectively mounted forfree pivotal action, and in such a way that complicated and impracticalmanufacturing and assembling techniques may be avoided. For example, insome prior art structures, a pivot pin has been provided to pivotallymount the ear wire, and in this connection it has been found necessaryto roll up a tubular hinge or provide other means on the bar itself forholding the pivot pin. This obviously results in a relatively slow andexpensive manufacturing and assembly procedure. In the aforedescribedPatent No. 2,647,379, one end of the ear wire is looped around anintegral transverse strip which is provided in the elongated bar byslotting the latter at one end and then by punching a hole in spacedinward relation from the end of the slot. This has been found to beundesirable in practice due to the fact that the relatively small punchwhich must be employed for providing the aforedescribed hole is subjectto frequent breakage, hence increasing manufacturing costs andsimultaneously slowing down the manufacturing operation.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide novel andimproved means for pivotally connecting an ear wire to one extremity ofan elongated, flat strip or bar.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a pierced earringwhich is of maximum simplicity to manufacture and assemble, and whichcomprises only two component parts, namely, the elongated, fiat bar andthe ear wire pivotally associated therewith.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an ear wire whichin spite of its extremely simple structure and its ease of manufactureis still highly effective in operation and durable in use.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered inconnection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated byme for carrying out my invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective detail of the elongated bar which forms part ofmy invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the slotted end of the bar shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the two parts of theinstant construction just before assembly;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the parts when assembled;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the slotted end of the bar shown inFIG. 1 after the ear wire has been assembled therewith, the wire beingshown in section; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the slotted end of a slightlymodified bar.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown generally at 10 an earringcomprising an elongated, flat bar 12 and an ear wire 14. .As will beseen most clearly in FIG. 1, the bar 12 is of substantially rectangularconfiguration and has at one end thereof an integral eye 16, while atthe other end there is provided a longitudinally extending slot 18. Aswill be seen most clearly from FIG. 2, the slot 18 converges from itsouter extremity as at 20 until an arcuate restricted portion 22 isreached Whereupon the slot is cut back as at 24 so as to flare to agreater width for the remainder of its length. Thus, in effect, theoppositely disposed portions 22 define arcuate, inwardly extendingprojections, the purpose or" which will hereinafter become apparent.

As will be seen most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the ear wire 14 is ofsubstantially U shape and is provided with a gently curved outwardlyextending portion 26 at one end thereof, while the other end defines aloop 28.

In assembly, the bar 12 is formed into an open-ended ring 30, althoughit will be understood that any desirable open-ended configuration may beemployed. Also, it will be understood that the outer surface 32 of ringmember 30 may be suitably ornamented in any desired fashion. Afterbending the eye 16 so that it extends outwardly, the wire 14 is ready tobe pivotally assembled to bar 12.

In order to effect this assembly, the wire 14 is positioned asillustrated in FIG. 3 and is then lowered in the direction of the arrowuntil loop 28 is positioned within slot 18. It will be understood thatthe narrowest cross dimension of slot 18 is slightly wider(approximately .001 inch) than the diameter of wire 14 so that the wiremay be freely positioned in the manner aforedescribed. Once the Wire hasbeen so positioned, and care should be taken to position the loop sothat projections 22 are in alignment with its opening, the sides of theslot 18 are forced inwardly by any suitable tool or apparatus. As thesides of slot 18 are forced inwardly, the position of parts illustratedin FIG. 5 is obtained, it being seen that the loop 28 bites into thesides of slot 18 so as to form grooves 36 therein. It will be obviousthat this result will be achieved in any situation where the surface ofwire 14 is harder than that of bar 12, which is the normal situationsince the bar 12 is normally made of brass or some other relatively softmetal, whereas the pierced ear wire in earrings of this type isgenerally gold plated in order to impart thereto a hard surface and onewhich is also of pleasing appearance. Actually, it will be understoodthat material is not critical insofar as bar 12 and wire 14 areconcerned, the only critical feature being the aforedescribed relationwherein wire 14 is harder than bar 12.

Once the sides of slot 18 have been crimped inwardly to the position ofFIG. 5, it will be obvious that the wire is incapable of being removedwithout once again spreading apart the bifurcated end of bar 12. At thesame time, the wire is free to pivot since loop 28 may be rotated in thearcuate bearing grooves 36. Thus, the wire 14 may be pivoted to the openposition illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 4, or else it may bepivoted to the closed position shown in full line wherein the portion 26is threaded through eye 16 so as to detachably maintain the ear wire inthis closed position. When it is desired to pivot the ear wire 14 to itsopen position, the resilience of the wire readily enables the U-shapedportion of same to be comaoaaoro 3 pressed sufficiently for end portion26 to be withdrawn from eye 16.

The inwardly extending projections 22 are advantageous to theaforedescribed assembly in that they lessen the criticality insofar asthe amount of pressure which must be applied to the bifurcated end ofbar 12.. Expressed diflferently, as soon as the bifurcated end of bar 12is forced together to restrict slot 18, the projections 22 are forcedinto the interior of loop 28 whereby a limited degree of pivotalmounting is obtained even before the wire commences to bite into thesides of slot 18. Thus, with the projections 22, it is not essentialthat the bifurcated end of the bar :12 be forced inwardly as much aswould be the case if the projections were not pressed. This also enablesa somewhat freer pivotal action to be obtained for ear Wire 12, sincethe greater the amount of penetration of wire 14 into bar 12, or,expressed differently, the deeper the grooves 36, the greater will bethe frictional resistance against turning movement of loop 28 withinsaid grooves.

On the other hand, it is not essential that the projections 22 beprovided, and in FIG. 6 a slightly modified form of my invention isshown wherein a bar 38 is provided having a slot 40, the Walls of whichare substantially parallel to each other for their entire length. Theassembly of wire 14 to bar 38 is exactly the same as aforedescribed,except that it will now be understood that it is essential thatsufficient pressure be applied when closing the slot 4t} to insure thatthe wire will bite into th sides of the slot in order to form thearcuate bearing grooves. Actually, the amount of pressure which isapplied when closing the bifurcated end of bar 33 against the wire loopis not critical so long as sufficient pressure is applied, although ithas been found that the greater the pressure which is applied, the morerestricted is the rotation of the mounted ear wire. This obviouslyresults from the fact that as the wire is forced deeper into the sidesof the slot, more bearing surface is provided, which means a greateramount of friction. In any event, it has been found that once the earwire has been manipulated or rotated two or three times in its mounting,it will tend to free itself, whereupon subsequent movements will berelatively free and unrestricted. It will also be apparent that in theform of my invention illustrated in FIG. 6, the longitudinal positioningof loop 28 within slot 46 is no longer important, whereas in thepreferred form of my invention, it is important to properly position theloop 28 so that the projections 22 are in alignment therewith. In thisrespect, the modified form of my invention is preferable since itremoves a degree of criticality from the assembly procedure, and alsobecause it is sometimes desirable to vary the longitudinal positioningof loop 28 with respect to the bar slot in order to achieve maximumblending of the curvature of wire 14 with the curvature of the elongatedbar.

In either case, the basic and salient concept of my invention resides inthe amazingly simple procedure of pivotally assembling the ear wire tothe elongated bar by placing the 'wire loop 28 within the bar slot andthen crimping the bifurcated end of the bar closed against said wire.The rigidity of the connection which is achieved by this technique istruly amazing, as is the freedom with which the wire can rotate in itsself-formed bearings. Once the wire has been assembled to the bar inaccordance with my technique, it is virtually impossible to man uallyseparate it therefrom, without once again opening up the slot. Thesimplicity of the manufacturing technique is thought to be obvious, andthe finished article requires no hinge pins, pivot bars or the like.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structureembodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventiveconcept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms hereinshown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pierced earring comprising an elongated fiat bar formed into anopen-ended ring, a longitudinally extending slot at one extemity of saidbar and an upturned eye at the other extremity thereof, said oneextremity being of uniform thickness throughout the extent of said slotin a direction toward the ring interior, a substantially U-shaped wirepivotally connected to said bar and adapted to bridge the open endthereof, said wire having a loop at one extremity thereof, each side ofsaid slot having a pair of spaced arcuate grooves, said loop curvingalong a substantially circular path and registering with said groovesand being maintained against removal, but being freely pivotal therein,portions of the circumference of said loop projecting out of said slotinwardly and outwardly of said ring.

2. A pierced earring as set forth in claim 1 further characterized inthat each side of said slot has a slight arcuate projection extendinginwardly into the interior of said loop.

3. A pierced earring as set forth in claim 1 further characterized inthat said grooves are formed by forcing the opposite sides of said slotagainst said loop.

4. In a pierced earring, an elongated bar of fiat stock rolled to forman open-ended ring, one extremity of said bar having a slot formedtherein that extends in a longitudinal direction intermediate the sidesof said bar, said one extremity being of uniform thickness throughoutthe extent of said slot in a direction toward the ring interior, a wirehaving a loop formed on one end thereof, said loop being pivotallysecured in said slot by the side walls of said slot that are forcedinwardly into intimate contact with said loop, portions of thecircumference of said loop projecting out of said slot inwardly andoutwardly of said ring, and each side of said slot having a pair ofspaced arcuate grooves that receive the sides of said loop therein inbearing relation.

5. In a pierced earring as set forth in claim 4, an arcuate projectionbeing formed on each side of said slot between the pairs of arcuategrooves, said proejctions extending inwardly into the interior of saidloop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.18,963 Corey Oct. 3, 1933 893,237 Gifford July 14, 1908 1,324,826 KingDec. 16, 1919 1,961,430 Perret June 5, 1934 2,516,652 Silverman July 25,1950 2,647,379 Ferro Aug. 4, 1953 2,900,695 Morin Aug. 25, 1959

